Now, the bad news: the Cardinal Grand Cross was really just a temporary amplification of the Uranus-Pluto square, which is going to be with us for the next couple of years. Jupiter in Cancer is now leaving the range of degrees to be exacerbating the effects of that square (give it until June to be safe, though), and Mars in Libra will form a Cardinal T-Square with Uranus and Pluto in mid-June, but the biggest and ugliest part of the planetary combo is over.

And now, the real work begins.

***

There is a call for revolution in one form or another whenever Uranus and Pluto aspect each other. The conjunction that happened back in the mid 60s saw a lot of important changes happen in the world… civil rights, challenges to authority, questioning of militarism… but many of those changes didn’t take root until after the conjunction was over.

On a smaller scale, that’s what’s happening to you now.

I wrote my Cardinal Grand Cross forecasts with certain age groups in mind, because I can’t write a forecast for everyone. Since you yourself were born in late 1976, you fall into one of those groups: the Uranus-Pluto square is directly affecting your natal Pluto. Going through a Pluto square is a difficult enough transit, without transiting Uranus messing around with it. This is why members of your specific age group are feeling the effects of strongly. But strangely enough… ss with so many things in life… It’s actually a blessing in disguise.

Yeah, That’s right, you heard me: it’s a blessing in disguise.

In your specific case, there’s more. Pluto is the ruler of your Midheaven, and that’s where Saturn is right now. Traditionally astrologers would interpret this as “a career crisis.” Regardless of your employment status, it’s going to be much larger than that. The Midheaven is not just the career: in a larger sense, it’s the part of you that is always looking for an answer to “what will I be when I grow up?” no matter how old you are. And to top it all off, transiting Pluto is approaching your Ascendant… and the Ascendant determines how you interface with the rest of the Universe.

Whew. Big stuff going on there.

So: how are all these difficult transits actually a blessing? For an example of how difficult transits can lead to Greatness, let’s have a look at someone else who is having some very difficult transits and has produced triumph as an end result: Conchita Wurst, the drag performer who recently won the Eurovision song contest.

***

Conchita was actually born Thomas Neuwirth on November 6, 1988 in Gmunden, Austria. He was born a “he,” but prefers to be referred to as “she.” Even though we like to think we live in a relatively enlightened time, drag still ain’t easy, and perhaps especially so when one has a beard like Conchita does. Even without her time of birth, we can see that the Uranus-Pluto square is having a huge effect on her. Her Venus is at 9° Libra, and her Neptune is at 8° Capricorn, and both those points are getting the full Uranus-Pluto pounding. For anyone, this would be a clear indicator of Big Things, and perhaps uncomfortably large change. On top of it all, transiting Saturn in Scorpio is conjunct her natal Sun-Pluto conjunction, and transiting Neptune is square her natal Jupiter.

This potentially terrifying sounding dog pile of transits has actually vaulted her to international acclaim. Whatever the tremendous stresses and strains in her life – and being the center of international attention has to be stressful – she has made Great Art of it.

Here, have a listen. A warning: place something soft under your face, because her voice may very well make your jaw drop.

That’s the one thing the Uranus-Pluto square needed: an anthem. And now we have one. Thank you, Conchita. Your timing is impeccable.

They say that “an artist’s got to suffer.” I suspect that’s true in some sense, even though everyone suffers sometimes. In fact, I think we are all much more artists then we realize: creating the story lines of our lives out of the confusing jangling noise of data that life presents us with.

If you are in fact an artist in any form, the difficult transit you face now and over the course of the next two years will help you produce better art. And even if you don’t think of yourself as an artist in any way shape or form, remember: your life is your art.

Yes. The Universe is currently supplying you with a jumbled mess of colors and sounds and thoughts and emotions and people. Yes. There is a blank canvas in front of you, unyielding in its silence.

Pick up the brush. Make something of it. Find yourself within the mess. Follow yourself to where you are compelling yourself to go, and bring all your optimism and faith with you. In the next two years you will have made something magnificent of yourself.

Matthew Currie

Matthew Currie is an astrologer, counselor and writer with over 20 years of experience and numerous appearances on television, radio and podcasts. He is the author of "Conquer The Universe With Astrology," (available on Amazon) and is available for private consultations at http://matthewtheastrologer.com/ or send him an e-mail. Matthew likes hearing from you.

He also predicted that yes, you WOULD end up here reading this.

Like everyone else, he is on Twitter: @matthewcurrie and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theastrologer